This study examines the connection between social capital and involvement within voluntary associations; involvement is defined either as being a member in an association or a member who has some kind of assignment in an association. The study also examines if there is a difference between two social economic groups regarding the attainment and transformation of social capital through being involved in a voluntary association. Social capital is defined as social trust and the willingness of collective action. The result of the research shows there is a slight connection between the involvement in voluntary associations and social capital. It shows that people who are members of a voluntary association often have higher social capital than those who are not members of any voluntary association at all. The study also shows that there is a difference in attainment of social capital between those who have some kind of assignment in a voluntary association and general members. When studying social capital and involvement in voluntary associations it is also of interest to take social class into the analysis, because the study shows that people with a lower education had increased social capital when they were members in an association compared to the members with a higher education.

This thesis investigates the relationship between the orientation of participants to voluntary associations and the orientation of associations to the wider society. By combining theoretical work from the field of voluntary associations with a theory of collective behaviour, a set of hypotheses is generated to analyze changes that have occurred it the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, a Canadian patriotic organization for women. A typology of voluntary associations is constructed, and a brief review of secondary sources shows the applicability of our theory to a wide range of voluntary social movements. The data used for this study includes association files, minutes, magazines and newspaper reports. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The main objective of this thesis is to explore the issue of microregional associations, the center of my interest is the Borsko microregion and the renewal project of the recreational area Bonětice. I am especially interested in how this association is performing since its establishment, how it is pursuing its aims, which projects were implemented by the Borsko microregion, whether it is operating effectively and, ultimately, what barriers and limits the development is facing. To confirm my initial assumptions, I used the survey method. The work is divided into two parts, theoretical and practical. In the theoretical part I deal with basic concepts and practical part deals with the microregion Borsko. The work also includes socio-economic analysis of microregion Borsko.

Scholars in the history and sociology of engineering in the United States have commented critically on the unwillingness of twentieth century engineers to participate actively in politics. Alfred Chandler, for example, has noted the absence of engineers in Progressive Era reform movements, while Edwin T. Layton Jr has criticized engineers in the 1920s for an excessive focus on sterile status seeking. This perceived lack of twentieth century engineering activism is especially puzzling given that nineteenth-century American engineers and engineering societies did not hesitate to lobby openly for clean water, smoke abatement, municipal reform, and numerous other issues. / Ph. D.

What is the political significance of affiliation with voluntary associations for people with and without foreign backgrounds in Sweden? Does associational affiliation offer an opportunity to influence the political decision-making process for those otherwise disfavoured in terms of political resources? Or does it rather aggravate the political marginalisation of people with foreign backgrounds? This thesis is based on two large-scale surveys that have been designed explicitly to deal with questions of this sort. It is shown that there are substantial differences in associational affiliation between people with and without foreign backgrounds. Interestingly, these differences are strongly correlated with patterns of ethnification and ethnic discrimination in Swedish society. Individuals who have migrated to Sweden from Western Europe and North America participate in voluntary associations to the same extent as native Swedes. In contrast, the levels of associational affiliation are consistently lower among people who have migrated to Sweden from other parts of the world, even controlling for age, education, occupation and other potentially important factors. The study supports the widely held notion that there is a positive causal relation between associational affiliation and political participation. However, this seems to be true only with regard to certain forms of political participation and only seldom to such an extent that differences in associational affiliation can be said to strongly affect the relative levels of political engagement of people with and without foreign backgrounds. In particular, the observed differences in associational affiliation seem to have little to do with the often debated marginalisation of immigrants in the electoral arena. / Etnisk organisering och politisk integration i storstaden

This thesis examines the key question: can voluntary associations enhance democracy? It tests critical claims made by Habermas and others that voluntary associations have the potential to reinvigorate a public sphere in a state of atrophy. The thesis outlines the major theoretical arguments pertaining to these areas and then presents the results of empirical work within voluntary organisations. Specifically the thesis: Critically examines the concept of the public sphere, being a sphere between the state and civil society and investigates why theorists have advocated voluntary associations, claimed to be the core institutions of civil society, as sites where democratic ideals can be secured; Goes on to examine the concept of civil society and reviews the recent literature that has attempted to define and analyse the role of voluntary associations in contemporary society; Tests empirically the normative ideals that have been advocated on behalf of voluntary associations through the presentation of data obtained using qualitative methodology. The analysis of the data collected during interviews with key employees and members of six voluntary associations in Melbourne, Australia allows for a more informed knowledge regarding the key concepts and themes of the thesis. The thesis ends by directly addressing the following points: whether or not the public sphere is in a state of atrophy; the particular nature of voluntary associations contemporary engagement in the public sphere; and whether voluntary associations can indeed, be sites where democracy can be enhanced and democratic ideals be secured. It is concluded that voluntary associations operate within Habermasian public spheres, counterspheres, and postmodern public spheres and that unitary notions of the public sphere, such as those Habermas proposes, do not adequately explain voluntary associations engagement in the public sphere. Accordingly, it is concluded that voluntary associations have the potential to invigorate public spheres, though not in ways that many theorists writing on the subject suggest.

Swedish voluntary associations, folkrörelser have been honoredwith a gilt-edged history, a chronicle in need of criticalnuance. Those mass movements which at the time of thebreakthrough of democracy and the welfare society were bearers ofcivic ideals and visions have changed in character and metcompetition from other organizations. Over the years theorganizational sphere as well as its enviroment have evolved intosomething of a completely different nature.The purpose of this study is to reconstruct the communityfunctions of voluntary associations; and to identify theconditions under which voluntary associations are able to promotedifferent political cultures.The analyses prove that voluntary associations in the welfaresociety occupy community functions located between the extremesof a service and a pressure function. Extrapolated to themacro-level they are on the way to a privatist and pluralistsociety, respectively. Few, if any, organizations maintain forcesthat point in the direction of a civil or state society.Organizations push society onto a path leading towards pluralismand individualism, but what does this imply for the developmentof the whole social formation? A variety of forces maycounterbalance the aspirations of voluntary associations. In thewelfare society key emphasis must be placed on what happens whenorganizations meet the challenge imposed by the volumnious growthof the public sector.The capacity of organizations to change the enviroment isdependent on the scale and thoroughness of public intervention:the more extensive government interventionism, the harder it isfor organizations to leave their imprint on the making of apolitical culture. If, however, the integration of the economic,social, and political arenas was to disintegrate or the arenaswere to become softer in their contours, organization potentialswould grow stronger. Voluntary associations are more reactivethan active in political conditions characterized by integratedarenas and government interventionism; reducing publicintervention is a prerequisite for organizations to be able toreshape the political culture. / digitalisering@umu

This dissertation presents findings from ethnographic research conducted with members of the Sociedad La Unión Martí-Maceo, established by segregated Black Cuban cigar workers in Ybor City in 1904. For decades, Tampa officials have initiated numerous urban revitalization projects aimed at developing a world-class tourist destination and metropolitan center. Often, these efforts have centered on highlighting the ethnic history of Ybor City, from which the participation of Black Cubans and the Martí-Maceo Society have been actively excluded or ignored. The main issues related to contemporary Afro- Cuban identity in Tampa and which will be examined in my dissertation, include the changing nature of the Afro-Cuban community in Tampa in light of increases in migration of Cubans and other Latinos of color to the area; Martí-Maceo members’ struggle to reclaim an Afro-Cuban heritage within Tampa’s larger historic preservation efforts over the past decade; and an examination of the Martí-Maceo Society as a voluntary association that appears to have outlived its usefulness in present-day Tampa despite efforts by elderly members to sustain and expand it.

The issue of immigration is arguably one of the most loaded political issues. Not only for several member states of the European union but since the Dublin-agreement fell apart, maybe also for the union as a whole. The growing number of anti-immigrant parties on the rise have intensified the interest by scholars in the issue of anti-immigrant sentiments and its explanations, and recently, trust has been found to constitute one of the strongest explanatory variables for the attitudes toward immigration.    But although the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence are there from separate fields of research, the link between voluntary associations, trust and support for immigration has not yet been connected. The idea of associations as a generator for “civic virtues” has been influential in the field of political science. But could the virtues fostered in associations have an impact in the attitudes toward immigration as well?    By using data from the SOM-institutes national survey of 2016, this study conducts a quantitative investigation on an individual-level to the relationship between associations, trust and anti-immigrant sentiments. The study’s findings suggest that there is a significant positive relationship between membership in associations that partially is mediated by trust, and somewhat surprisingly, the study finds there may be something else to associational membership that has an significant impact on trust. Lastly, some theoretical arguments are provided to attribute this “something else”-effect to Putnam’s second civic virtue “generalized reciprocity”.

The problem investigated in this study was how individuals participate in the local units of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and particularly how their participation relates to the program and policy initiatives of the national association. The purpose was to understand and describe how individuals experience branch membership, how they respond to the current program and policy initiatives of the association, and to examine some of the differences between members with regard to the salience of the initiatives. The research issues concerned why women join and retain their membership in local units, how they participate, and how they promote the program and policies of the national association. The grounded theory method was used to perform this qualitative study. Ten participants, in two branches, were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed, using The Ethnograph tool, and then open, axial, and selective coding was carried out to discern patterns and themes from the data. The findings, which emerged from the data, resulted in a model of four stages of increasing social activism and responsiveness to the national agenda. Attending to the mission of the association--to promote equity, lifelong education, and positive societal change--became increasingly important to some members as they moved through the stages. During the first stage, Participates, members simply attended meetings, took part in activities and fund-raisers, and some performed a branch role. During the second stage, Supports, they promoted education opportunities for specific women and girls, by setting up study groups, providing for local scholarships, or other educational activities. During the third stage, Facilitates, members actually promoted equity by disseminating information in the community concerning the association's issues. During the fourth stage, Advocates, members worked in the community to make changes based on issues from the national agenda. The conclusions addressed member motivation, the importance of the social capital built through participation, and the internal consequences of membership. While most women joined and retained their membership in the local units for social contact, some joined because of the organization's mission. Their motivation to join and retain their membership made a difference in their level and kind of branch involvement. The importance of the social capital built during participation in branch activities, often diminished, is of utmost importance to the usually, conservative members as some of them became more engaged in the activist, national agenda. The internal consequences of membership in the local units of the voluntary association were more important to members than the external consequences, which led to incongruence between the national office and the branches. This study adds to the body of knowledge regarding voluntary associations, particularly with respect to understanding how individuals experience membership at the local level, their goal orientation, and their motivation to participate over time. / Ed. D.